Seascapes Prints (735)
Seascape prints capture Japan's extensive coastline, harbors, and maritime culture through the woodblock medium. As an island nation with thousands of miles of coastline, Japan's relationship with the sea has been a natural subject for printmakers from the earliest days of ukiyo-e to contemporary practice. Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (c. 1831) is perhaps the single most recognized image in all of Japanese art, and its dynamic depiction of ocean power set a standard for seascape composition that artists have responded to for nearly two centuries. Hiroshige's coastal views in the "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" and various province series established a more contemplative approach to maritime subjects, emphasizing harbor activities, fishing villages, and the sea's changing moods across seasons. Shin-hanga artists brought atmospheric refinement to seascape subjects. Hiroshi Yoshida's sailing vessel prints and Kawase Hasui's coastal views combined Western-influenced light observation with traditional Japanese compositional principles. The woodblock technique proves particularly suited to seascapes, as the bokashi (gradient) technique creates convincing atmospheric depth while the grain of the woodblock itself can suggest the texture of water surfaces.
Artists Known for Seascapes
Afternoon at Shirahama
1939
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
TotalCount
1915
Woodblock print
Sanhu Island
1941
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A Calm Day
1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Cloudy Day
1938
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Sunrise — 日の出
Not set
Woodblock print
Honolulu
Woodblock print
Poem No. 22: A Seashell
抒情 No.22 貝殻
1953
Color woodblock print
Yokohama
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Kagogahana, near Matsue, Shimane Prefecture
1927
Color woodblock print
Low Tide at Susaki - A Set of Five (Shiohi goban no uchi)
c. 1828-30
Color woodblock prints; shikishiban pentaptych, surimono
Shinagawa
Woodblock print
Ine 5
Woodblock print
Yoichi, Hokkaido
Woodblock print
Ōmori, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital
early 1830s
Color woodblock print
Fire - The fishing fire
Woodblock print
Hirado Island (FIRANDO)
Woodblock print
Kanagawa
Woodblock print
South Izu Peninsula
1970
Woodblock print
Awashima Island, Izu- Somejima
Woodblock print
Ichinotani
20th century
Woodblock print
Maisaka: Morning Glow
Woodblock print
Miya
Woodblock print
Mallard Ducks in Coastal Scene
Woodblock print
Morning Waves
Woodblock print
Warehouses on a Promontory
Woodblock print
Wedding Rocks- Futamigaura
Woodblock print
Koko
1939
Color woodblock print
Congratulations on Maritime Security for All Eternity! (Kaijô anzen bandai kotobuki)
Woodblock print
Shimoda, numbered
Woodblock print
Famous places in Tokyo, Takanawa: Picture of . Complete picture of a steam locomotive and railroad
1871, 9th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of ‘White Stripe in the Waves’ Zhang Shun and ‘Black Whirlwind’ Li Kui Fighting in the Water
After February 1887
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kaijo anzen
Woodblock print
Yuigahama
1863, 5th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Pine on Doi Island
Woodblock print
Echigo Kashiwazaki, Niigata
Woodblock print
Abe Hirafu
February 1880
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Railway Line at Takanawa (Takanawa tetsudō no zu)
Tenth month of 1871
Right sheet from a woodblock print (nishiki-e) triptych; ink and color on paper
Inubozaki Cape, Inubo Point
Woodblock print
Unzendake
1927
Color woodblock print
Unknown
1961
Woodblock print
Girls on the Shore, Fukuura- Fukuura Hama no Musume
Woodblock print
Asahina Saburō Yoshihide
1872–73
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Unasaka-B
25/80, 1986
Woodblock print
In the Great Sino-Japanese War, Our Navy Has a Great Victory
Woodblock print
Triptych: Hyaku-shaku Gaisho kôgeki no zu, Meiji period, dated 1895
Woodblock print
Great Victory of the Navy off Dagushan
October 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Hirato Nagasaki (A)
Woodblock print
Coral
Woodblock print
Tahiti (B)
1966
Color woodblock print; edition 10/50
Hirato Nagasaki, Shôwa period, dated 1965
Woodblock print
Nichibotsu (Sunset)
1937
Woodblock print
Moored Boats (Ships at Rest)
Woodblock print
Illustration of the Landing and Advance to Weihaiwei
1895 (Meiji 28)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e) triptych; ink and colors on paper
Attack at the Site of the Hundred-Foot Cliff
1895 (Meiji 28)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Major General Odera Fighting Fiercely at the Hundred Foot Cliff in Weihaiwei (Ikaiei hyakusekigaisho ni Odera shosho funsen su)
1895
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Kitaguni no Umigo no Koya — 北国の海辺の小屋
Woodblock print
Breaking waves (1)
Woodblock print
Triptych: Minamoto Tameyoshi's son Tametomo (1139-1170), from the series Episodes from Unknown Japanese History (Nihon gaishi no uchi), Meiji period, dated 1884
Woodblock print
Sail boats
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Seascape prints capture Japan's extensive coastline, harbors, and maritime culture through the woodblock medium. As an island nation with thousands of miles of coastline, Japan's relationship with the sea has been a natural subject for printmakers from the earliest days of ukiyo-e to contemporary practice.
Kawase Hasui, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Hiroshi Yoshida are among the artists most associated with seascapes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 735 prints tagged with seascapes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.